France's Nicolas Sarkozy questioned by police over campaign financing

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is being questioned by police over allegations he accepted money from Libya t...

Posted: Mar 20, 2018 2:04 PM

Updated: Mar 20, 2018 2:04 PM

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is being questioned by police over allegations he accepted money from Libya to finance his 2007 election campaign.

Sarkozy, 63, attended the questioning voluntarily on Tuesday, according to an official at the court.

The official, who did not want to be named, said Sarkozy was being investigated by anti-corruption authorities.

According to the official, Sarkozy was notified of the request to appear prior to today. Under French law, he can be held for up to 48 hours.

Sarkozy, leader of France from 2007 until 2012, has been dogged by accusations of financial wrongdoing.

In July 2012, shortly after he was ousted from office by the Socialist Fran-ois Hollande, police raided Sarkozy's home as part of an investigation into alleged illegal assistance from L'Or-al heiress Liliane Bettencourt during the 2007 election campaign.